Israel offers $20m to Turkish flotilla victims

Israel has reportedly offered Turkey $20 million in compensation to the families of those killed and wounded in its 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Citing unnamed Western diplomats briefed on the ongoing negotiations with Ankara, the Haaretz daily reported on Monday that Turkey had yet to respond to the Israeli offer.

Once-close relations between the two nations fell apart under the rule of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara. With tensions already strained, in May 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish nationals when they came under attack during a pre-dawn raid to take control of the Mavi Marmara, a ship that was seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The incident provoked a major diplomatic crisis between the former regional allies, with Ankara demanding a formal apology, compensation for the families of the victims and an end to the blockade of Gaza.

Talks finally began in March 2013 after Israel extended a formal apology to Turkey to get relations back on track following top-level intervention by US President Barack Obama.

The talks stalled for several months but were revived in December when Israeli negotiators traveled to Istanbul and Turkey lowered its demands for compensation, Haaretz reported.

Western diplomats quoted by the paper said Ankara had demanded $30 million, but Israel was initially willing to give only $15 million.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later decided to up Israel’s offer to $20 million, with an extra $3 million available “if necessary to secure an agreement,” the paper said.

The funds will not be paid directly to the families of the dead and wounded, but will be deposited in a humanitarian fund and distributed to them in accordance with defined criteria, it said.

Netanyahu’s office refused to comment on the report.

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This entry was posted on 02/03/2014, 9:34 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.
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Sounds like someone wants to shut-up Erdogan.
20 Mil to the families. 3 Mil to Erdogan, which doesn’t seem like much. Either way, it is nowhere enough, and would have been an act of war toward (and from) any other country.

***The check to the Hurndalls was accompanied by a brief letter signed by Israeli Ambassador Zvi Stauber and stating: “As agreed, please find attached herewith a check in the amount of 8,370 pounds sterling to cover the repatriation costs of Mr. Tom Hurndall. The aforementioned sum is paid as an ex gratia payment and without any admission of liability by the State of Israel and/or the Ministry of Defense as to Mr. Hurndall’s injury.”

The payment was agreed on after months of legal wrangling by the Hurndall family lawyer in Israel, Michael Sefarad, led to JAG commander Brig. Gen. Menachem Finkelstein ordering a Military Police investigation against the soldiers who shot Hurndall.

A spokesman for the Hurndall family said the family was astonished two days ago when they received a letter from the National Westminster Bank that the check issued by the Bank of Israel was returned after it emerged that the balance in the account did not allow payment. The problem was not technical, said National Westminster, but rather the account simply had insufficient funds.***

~in May 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish nationals when they came under attack during a pre-dawn raid to take control of the Mavi Marmara, a ship that was seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip~

A complete LIE !

No one on board attacked the IDF commandos, and besides, they had nothing with which to do it.

Ken O’Keefe and others gave primary testimonies affirming that the commandos did the attacking and totally without cause, later fake videos notwithstanding.

~~The funds will not be paid directly to the families of the dead and wounded, but will be deposited in a humanitarian fund and distributed to them in accordance with defined criteria, it said.~~

If i were a relative, and on reading this, i’d be inclined to tell them to stick it where the . . oh, you know the rest, as i’m sure i wouldn’t miss it.

I don’t understand it… At first the Israeli government claimed to be innocent and said that everything they did was defensive and they were defending their country against the terrorists but now are offering hush money to the victims…